1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a system and method for controlling a video display device over network connection, and more particularly to controlling a video display device according to a connection state of one or more client devices to a presentation gateway over an Internet Protocol (“IP”) network.
2. Background Art
An increasing global awareness of energy consumption continues to keep the electronics industry focused on improved ways to control and conserve power, particularly for networked electronic devices.
One prior solution has been to implement an automatic power management technique that transitions a device to low-power or power-off state. For example, the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (“ACPI”) enables a system to conserve power by automatically transitioning a device to a low power state (e.g., Standby, Suspend, Hibernate, sleep, and deep-sleep) when full power is not desired. In a typical arraignment, the transition back to a higher power state occurs subsequent to the physical pressing of a button, key, or by moving an attached input device (e.g., a mouse.)
Similarly, if any display devices are attached, they typically continue to waste energy when permitted to remain powered-on during long idle periods (e.g. when not displaying any content or being viewed.) Normally, mitigating this type of power consumption has included design compliance with the Video Electronics Standards Association (“VESA”) Display Power Management System protocol (“DPMS.”) This protocol may be selectively used to shut down parts of the monitor's circuitry after a period of inactivity. Typically, an electronic device monitors for (e.g. user) activity and after a determined amount time, sends the appropriate sleep signal to the monitor. The monitor is woken-up by the system when activity is detected.
Within a network context, one solution has been to have the waking event include a network message to a network adapter. For example, Wake on LAN (“WOL”) is an Ethernet computer networking standard that allows a computer to be turned on or awakened by a network message. This technology involves the sending of a wake packet, over an Ethernet connection, to a selected sleeping node. the network interface of a sleeping device may scan all incoming transmissions from a network and wake up upon detection of a wake packet.
Similarly, audio and video interconnect systems for high-definition video, such as the High-Definition Multimedia Interface (“HDMI”) includes an optional Consumer Electronics Control (“CEC”) protocol that allows a connected device to issue control commands to another connected device. However, CEC implementations tend to be manufacturer-specific, which complicates the control of display devices from different manufacturers.
While the prior solutions may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they are not suitable for mitigating power consumption of a display device within the context of a multi-user collaboration system according to the connection state of one or more client device connections to a presentation gateway on an IP network. Therefore, there is a need in the art for controlling a networked display device within the context of a multi-user collaboration system.